


you make me smile (please, stay for a while now)

by pyrefiy



Series: pyre's loona the ficlets [3]
Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-11-16 05:18:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18088166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyrefiy/pseuds/pyrefiy
Summary: In which senior doctor Ha Sooyoung visits the children's ward one day, only to find the new pediatrician, Kim Jiwoo, waving around a cute penguin plushie to get her patient to stop crying, and perhaps Sooyoung feels her heart do things when she hears Jiwoo's giggle.





	you make me smile (please, stay for a while now)

**Author's Note:**

> Heyo heyo! Here's a little thing based off the AU prompt I came up with earlier on Twitter!
> 
> https://twitter.com/pyrefIy/status/1105442744191860737?s=19
> 
> Enjoy!

It's not every day senior doctor Ha Sooyoung finds her way down into the children’s ward of the hospital - usually, she's on the higher floors, taking part in or overseeing the ongoing surgeries. Still, after finishing the most recent realignment surgery of a brave sixteen-year-old's fractured leg bones, Sooyoung had been made aware that little Yeojin's pediatrician was actually the children’s ward's new addition. So, with a light heart following the successful surgery, Sooyoung decided to hand deliver Yeojin's files to Dr. Kim Jiwoo herself, figuring that it wouldn't hurt to meet the new doctor in the meantime.

 

Sooyoung fights back a smile as she steps off the elevator, immediately being greeted by the ward's pastel green walls, a stark contrast to the pristinely white of the rest of the hospital. Paintings litter the walls, of cartoon animals and spaceships and flowers galore.

 

She's always been a fan of this place, likes the way it brings a certain type of lightheartedness that isn't possessed anywhere else in the building.

 

As Sooyoung approaches the reception area, the woman behind the front desk perks up at her appearance, pushing up her glasses and greeting Sooyoung with a grin.

 

“Sooyoung!” Haseul calls, waving her over.

 

“Hi there, Haseul,” Sooyoung chuckles, running a hand through her hair after waving. “It's nice to see you as lively as ever. You're working the desk today?”

 

“I'm covering for Kahei on her lunch break. And stop acting like it's been a while! We saw each other two days ago, Sooyoung,” Haseul teases, crossing her arms. “When you, Jinsol, and I were-”

 

“I'm not sure this is the right environment to be talking about last Friday,” Sooyoung cuts her off with a laugh. She briefly recalls that late night at her apartment. What had started out as a simple movie night with her best friends from med school on their one day off had turned into a wine session where they'd all ended up confessing one thing or another - Haseul's had been her extreme distaste for Dr. Lee a few floors up (Sooyoung had agreed wholeheartedly), Jinsol had confessed to liking Dr. Jungeun from physical therapy, and Sooyoung had admitted to missing the feeling of being in a relationship.

 

“You're not wrong,” Haseul says cheekily, reclining in her office chair, spinning absently around before presumably remembering how out-of-place Sooyoung looked in the children's ward. “Anyway! What are you doing here, HaSoo? I can’t even remember the last time you stepped foot on this floor.”

 

“It's been a pretty long time. I hadn't even known we'd gotten a new pediatrician until earlier today,” Sooyoung admits, scratching her head. She holds up the blue file folder with her free hand. “This is Im Yeojin's file. We operated on her fractured leg today, and since we finished and I'm on break, I figured I'd bring it down myself.”

 

“Oh!” Haseul immediately lights up at the familiar name. “So Yeojin's all good now? That's great! She used to be under my care before she turned sixteen and was passed over to Jiwoo.”

 

“So this should go to Jiwoo?”

 

Haseul nods. “You'll be able to find her in one of these rooms along the hallway on the right. She should be finishing a walk-in visitor soon, so just wait for her. I know you two haven't met before, but trust me, when you see her,” Haseul winks, “You'll know.”

 

Sooyoung snorts, and Haseul grins.

 

“Whatever you say,” the surgeon says with a short laugh, already heading towards the hallway Haseul had pointed out to her. “Thanks Haseul!”

 

\--

 

She'd heard the sniffling of a child first, followed by a gentle, calming voice right after, and Sooyoung had immediately been intrigued, following the noise, fully knowing that it would lead her straight to Dr. Jiwoo.

 

Not wanting to intrude, Sooyoung stood outside the partially closed door, peering in through reasonably-sized crack and spying what very well could've been the most heartwarming scene Sooyoung had ever witnessed.

 

A little girl sits on a blue chair that's entirely too big for her, looking incredibly small in the moment, especially as she cradles an ice pack to her wrist, sniffling and haphazardly rubbing at teary eyes with a closed fist. Sooyoung watches as a young doctor quickly drops to her knees in front of a girl, and Sooyoung blinks as she notices something in the pediatricians hand.

 

It takes her a moment to realize that it's a penguin stuffed toy, and that Dr. Kim Jiwoo is waving around an adorable plush penguin in front of her patient, doing funny voices and probably making funny facial expressions (Sooyoung can’t quite tell from her angle, but she _knows_ ), all to make this little girl stop crying.

 

It makes Sooyoung's heart want to burst.

 

The little girl giggles before breaking into a hiccup, before a small smile plays on her lips and she giggles once more.

 

Meanwhile, Jiwoo cheers, holding the penguin plushie over her head and doing a little happy dance before immediately schooling her expression and presumably attempting to be serious.

 

Oh god, Sooyoung's not sure if her heart can handle all of this.

 

“Mr. Tuxedo doesn't like it when you’re sad, Miyeon” Jiwoo pouts, waggling one of Mr. Tuxedo's flippers and sending the child into a fit of giggles once more. “He thinks you should be happy because you're a brave girl, and brave girls can power through anything!”

 

“E-even s-sprained wrists?” Little Miyeon asks, trying to get rid of the last of her sniffles.

 

Jiwoo nods meaningfully.

 

“Even sprained wrists,” she says, surprisingly solemn, before she and Miyeon meet eyes, and both the little girl and her doctor break into giggles, and even from where she's standing, Sooyoung just knows they're both beaming from ear to ear.

 

Jiwoo's laughter sounds something akin to clear bells chiming on a sunny day, and Sooyoung’s not sure how her heart survived witnessing all that cuteness contained in one room.

 

“I'm going to put the wrap around your wrist now so that you can't hurt it anymore,” Jiwoo says kindly. “Do you wanna hold Mr. Tuxedo with your other hand while I wrap it?”

 

Miyeon nods furtively, taking Mr. Tuxedo from Jiwoo and cradling the plushie to her chest, and from where she stands, Sooyoung lets a smile bloom on her lips.

 

\--

 

The surgeon side-steps out of the way as Miyeon's mother ushers her daughter out of the office two minutes later, bowing to the pediatrician in thanks as Jiwoo smiles brightly, chirps that it was no big deal.

 

Much to Sooyoung's surprise, the moment she's left alone, Jiwoo slumps into her office chair, frowning to herself, lower lip hitting out in a pout.

 

Sooyoung frowns.

 

_Why is she sad?_

 

She doesn't have much time to question it though--

 

Because then Sooyoung's stepping into the room as Jiwoo's cleaning up, and Jiwoo's spotting her, eyes going wide at Sooyoung's sudden appearance, and she watches in stunned silence as Sooyoung walks over to the chair where Miyeon had been sitting, gingerly picks up Mr. Tuxedo, and smiles at it before turning to Jiwoo.

 

“You and Mr. Tuxedo worked hard today,” Sooyoung grins at the pediatrician, waving the penguin plushie, laughing gently to herself as it's flippers flap around adorably. “Thank you for your service!”

 

Jiwoo immediately turns a bright shade of red.

 

“D-doctor Sooyoung!” she stutters, stumbling backwards and bracing herself against the raised examination table. “H-how-” Jiwoo flushes, twiddling with her fingers. “How long were you there…?”

 

“Just a few minutes,” Sooyoung chuckles, passing Mr. Tuxedo over to Jiwoo, who immediately wraps her arms around the plushie. Then a thought occurs. “Oh! You know who I am?”

 

“Well y-yes,” Jiwoo stammers, tripping over her words, and Sooyoung wonders if the other pediatricians are aware of how adorable their latest addition is. Meanwhile, Jiwoo straightens up, pushing her round wire-rimmed glasses up and appearing to regain some of her bearings.

 

“I think _everyone_ who works in this hospital knows who you are Dr. Sooyoung,” she adds quietly. “You and your friends are kind of prodigies a-and super amazing at what you do.”

 

“Oh god,” Sooyoung runs a sheepish hand through her hair, sparking quiet giggle from Jiwoo, and _damn,_ Sooyoung’s a doctor, and she very well knows the dangers of addiction but she thinks she might as well have become intoxicated by the sound. “I don't know about _that._ We were just stressed med school kids who wanted to graduate as soon as possible, nothing special.” Jiwoo makes a noise of protest, but Sooyoung shushes her with a quirk of a lip and a wagging finger. “Also, just Sooyoung is fine, Jiwoo.”

 

The small _ah_ that leaves Jiwoo's lips, coupled with the bad attempt to conceal the expression on Jiwoo's face that looks like Sooyoung just handed her an early Christmas present, makes the butterflies in Sooyoung's stomach whirl up in a gust of wind.

 

“Sooyoung it is then!” Jiwoo says, smiling, and Sooyoung feels herself physically get lighter at the way Jiwoo clutches Mr. Tuxedo to her chest, as if bracing against the toy.

 

“Jiwoo?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Why did you look sad after Miyeon and her mom left?”

 

Sooyoung can't help but be worried, despite having met this girl literally a minute ago.

 

“Oh, um,” Jiwoo bites her lip out of embarrassment, squirming on the spot. Her gaze travels around the room for a moment before locking eyes with Sooyoung, taking a sharp breath at the genuine concern in the older woman's eyes. The young pediatrician sighs, caving. “I don't know… I guess I'm just worried that I'm not doing enough? I'm still really new to being a full pediatrician, I was just appointed a few weeks ago, and I always feel like I'm lacking in something. I guess I just get frustrated with myself…”

 

“But you're trying your hardest, right?” Sooyoung prods gently, a soft hand rest on Jiwoo's shoulder.

 

Jiwoo nods immediately, blinking back a sudden wave of tears at Sooyoung's gesture.

 

“Y-yes, of course.”

 

“Then that's what really matters,” Sooyoung smiles. “I used to think the same exact thing when I first started out too. But then I came to realize that I might've been too hard on myself. It’s always good to want to improve, but not to the point where it hinders your ability to be the best you can for your patients in the moment. Jiwoo, I've known you for literally a whole second,” Jiwoo sniffles but a small smile returns to her lips, “and I _already_ know that you're an amazing pediatrician. You made that scared little girl smile! Let me tell you, when I was growing up, I would've cried the entire session if I ever sprained something at that age. And her mother was _so_ grateful - you're doing amazing work for someone thrust into this position a few weeks ago! You've totally got this in the bag.”

 

“Sooyoung,” Jiwoo sniffs, rubbing at her eyes with a sleeve before flashing Sooyoung a real smile. “Thank you. Really. I think that's just what I needed to hear.”

 

“No problem,” Sooyoung says kindly. Gently, she takes Mr. Tuxedo from Jiwoo's embrace, waving one of his flippers and imitating the pitched tone in the same way Jiwoo had earlier. “Mr. Tuxedo doesn’t like it when you're sad, Jiwoo!”

 

Jiwoo throws her head back and laughs.

 

Sooyoung decides that it’s her new favorite sound.

 

_(Damn, she's in deep.)_

 

“Oh, was there a particular reason you were waiting for me?”

 

“Ah, that's right,” Sooyoung had nearly forgotten. She hands the blue folder over to Jiwoo. “Here's Im Yeojin's updated file. We operated on her today, and I decided to bring the folder down myself.” She sends a wink the younger woman's way. “I'm pretty glad I did, too.”

 

Jiwoo immediately blushes, turning even redder if possible as she buries her face into the penguin plushie’s soft pelt.

 

“Oh, you really didn't have to do that, Sooyoung,” she mumbles, not meeting Sooyoung's eyes, but the slightly older woman sees the smile tugging at the corner of Jiwoo's lips, and something inside her soars, especially as Jiwoo then murmurs, “But… I think I'm glad you did too.”

 

“Jiwoo, would you happen to have your lunch break around now?” Sooyoung questions abruptly.

 

Jiwoo blinks, startled, and she quickly glances at the clock, inhaling sharply when she realizes the time and what the other doctor might be implying.

 

“Y-yes?”

 

“Do you want to have lunch with me?” Sooyoung asks gently, trying not to startle the younger woman even further.

 

The surgeon holds her breath, braces for impact.

 

She breaks out into a grin the moment Jiwoo beams, and suddenly the air comes rushing back to her lungs.

 

“I would love to, Sooyoung!”

 

End.


End file.
